Room To Grow

New Housing Development Gives The City Of Highwood More Territory And A Chance For A Bigger, Brighter Future

June 28, 1998|By Kevin Davis. Special to the Tribune.

Chicago entrepreneur Tom Verhey sees a bright future for the City of Highwood. He's so confident of the potential of this small town that he invested more than $500,000 to convert an old vacant building on Green Bay Road into a splashy new nightclub earlier this year.

"People think of Highwood as a unique place," said Verhey, who had considered building his club, Izzatso, in several other suburbs. "I like the attitude of Highwood. I like the people of Highwood. It's a great place. It also has a solid reputation as a restaurant and night-life town."

Most people who live in Highwood seem to think it's a great place, too, comfortable in its small-town, everybody-knows-his-neighbor atmosphere. They are proud that the town continues to thrive as the North Shore's premier night-life destination.

Although Highwood's restaurant and bar business has remained strong, there has been little growth in retail and service business, especially since Ft. Sheridan closed in 1993, said Bruno Bertucci, executive director of the Highwood Chamber of Commerce. "You have to have businesses here for the people," he said. "We can't compete with places like Port Clinton Square in Highland Park for shopping. We need more."

Nonetheless, Bertucci, along with many other residents, believes Highwood is ready for a renaissance.

"Despite its problems, Highwood is a good community," Bertucci said. "It has good schools, good people. It's a good place to live. Highwood will regroup and survive."

And for the first time in 100 years, the city is expanding its boundaries. Highwood and Highland Park bought 140 acres that were once part of Ft. Sheridan. Developers are planning to build new homes and apartments on about 68 acres in Highwood and 72 acres in Highland Park. To tiny Highwood, which is about three-fourths of a square mile, this will increase its land area by about one-third.

This expansion will mean more residents, more construction and, city officials hope, more spending in the community. That will translate into more sales tax revenue for Highwood, which has seen a steady drop. From a high point six years ago of $339,000, figures for the most recent fiscal year, which ended April 30, were $274,000.

"It's bound to have an impact on the business community," said Highwood Mayor John Sirotti. "I hope this development will complement our community. We've already had some new businesses open downtown recently, including a interior-decorating business and a cabinet-making shop."

Moreover, several national retail chains have contacted the city to inquire about building there, though no formal proposals have been submitted, according to City Attorney Paul Diambri.

Highwood is best known for its night life, not its shopping. Running through the heart of the city along Green Bay and Sheridan Roads are some of the North Shore's finest restaurants. On Friday and Saturday nights, parking spaces and tables are at a premium. Young people from nearby suburbs, college students and working folks fill up the bars.

For those 5,400 citizens who live in Highwood, the concern is not so much how well the business district is doing but how well neighborhoods are doing. Many residents have been worried that the quality of life in Highwood has been declining because of crime, deteriorating property and substandard housing.

"When I was a kid, everybody felt safe," said Donna Ohlwein, a lifelong resident and president of the Concerned Citizens of Highwood, a recently formed neighborhood association. "Through the years, I've watched the deterioration. But I believe it's getting better."

Much of the concern has centered on the North Shore Estates apartment complex on Sheridan Road, north of Washington Street, a development with about 1,000 residents that was known as Tudor Park when it opened in 1970.

After the complex was sold about 10 years ago, it began to decline, residents said. They complained that apartments were left to deteriorate, garbage began to pile up on the Metra tracks behind the complex and groups of people began hanging outside at all hours, drinking, selling drugs and spray-painting gang graffiti on buildings.

Worried that these changes were threatening the stability of their neighborhood, Ohlwein and her neighbors formed Concerned Citizens last September. "It sort of evolved," she said. "We were concerned about Highwood and how it looked and that it was deteriorating, especially in our area. Housing was deteriorating and was overcrowded, and the living conditions were bad. And we were beginning to feel less safe."

The citizens group started with about a dozen members. Others became interested. Word got out about a public meeting to discuss the city's problems. "We had over 100 people come to the meeting," Ohlwein said. "That was amazing. People usually stay at home. It was awesome to see all of these people. I think everyone was in a coma for a long time."